Texas Congressman Wants To Cancel Presidential Golf

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Rep. Louie Gohmert, a notorious right-wing grandstander even by the standards of Texas congressmen, thinks the government functions curtailed by the sequester should include not only White House tours, but President Obama’s golf game.

The Obama Administration has announced it will cancel White House tours, beginning Saturday “until further notice.”

To achieve that, Gohmert has proposed an amendment to the continuing spending resolution that would prevent the government from paying for Obama’s golf trips.

Gohmert’s amendment, which was submitted to the House Rules Committee, read “None of the funds made available by a division of this act may be used to transport the president to or from a golf course until public tours of the White House resume.”

Gohmert cited reports that Obama’s recent golf trip to Palm City, Fla., during which he played with Tiger Woods, cost $1 million, enough to prevent 341 federal employees from being furloughed.

According to the Obama Golf Counter, the president has played 115 rounds in the last four years. Most have been at Andrews Air Force, but he has also played in Hawaii, Florida, at the Beverly Country Club in Chicago, and on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.

Obama took up golf as a state senator, after learning that many Springfield deals were struck at the Panther Creek Golf Course. He has joined a list of avid White House golfers than includes Woodrow Wilson, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton and both Bushes.

Gohmert’s amendment was not voted on, so the sequester won’t cancel round number 116.